By IANS
Islamabad/New York : Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has ruled out the possibility of imposing martial law or a state of emergency in Pakistan that could lead to the postponement of elections.
The president told a meeting of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid (PML-Q) in Islamabad that elections would be held on time because he had “promised to the world” that this would happen and that the polls would be free and fair, Aaj TV channel reported.
Musharraf is planning two polls later this year: his own re-election bid and balloting for the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies.
He said the presidential election would be held before the general elections as this was necessary “for the continuation of policies introduced during his tenure,” Daily Times reported Wednesday.
According to Online news agency, PML-Q chief Shujaat Hussain again advised the president to extend the tenure of the assemblies by one year – which could be done by declaring a state of emergency.
The president’s aides and other participants at the meeting were “displeased by Hussain’s suggestion”.
Musharraf told the meeting that the PML-Q and its allies “must compete with the opposition and defeat it in elections”.
Meanwhile, Musharraf’s close political aide and PML-Q secretary general Mushahid Hussain Sayed has arrived in New York, fuelling speculation that talks between former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the government over Pakistan’s future political set-up have taken a crucial turn.
Sayed is expected to hold talks with the PPP leaders to clarify the government’s position on certain issues that are stalling a power-sharing arrangement between Musharraf and Bhutto.
Bhutto, who had earlier said she would leave New York on Tuesday for London, decided to extend her stay by another week, sources in the PPP told Dawn.
They said that the party’s parliamentary leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim is also returning to New York to join the talks.